Lard: a firm answer on cholesterol and a split verdict on deaths

Lard is rendered pork fat, and the two national food tables that describe it barely disagree. It is 100 g of fat per 100 g, with 39.2 g saturated and 95 mg cholesterol in the USDA record and 40.3 g saturated and 93 mg cholesterol in the British CoFID record. What that fat does inside a person has one firm answer and one open one. Nine meta-analyses of randomised feeding trials, pooled in an umbrella review that measured blood lipids rather than heart events, found that lard in place of monounsaturated oils raised LDL cholesterol by 8.39 mg/dL (95% CI 2.83 to 13.95). In place of polyunsaturated oils the rise was 9.85 mg/dL (6.06 to 13.65), HDL did not move, and the nine analyses partly share the same underlying trials. A network meta-analysis of 54 trials in 2,065 adults aged 22 to 84 runs the exchange the other way. Swapping 10 percent of energy from lard for safflower, sunflower, rapeseed, corn or soybean oil lowered LDL by 0.20 to 0.33 mmol/L, on a dose-response model in which some comparisons rest on few direct trials. Whether that lipid shift turns into deaths is the open question, because the two cohorts disagree. Among 18,852 adults in Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic, a traditional Eastern European diet measured by food questionnaire carried a hazard ratio for all-cause death of 1.23 (95% CI 1.08 to 1.42). High lard consumption was the component of that diet linked to all three mortality outcomes the study tracked, all-cause and cardiovascular among them. Among 14,305 Chinese adults with 1,006 deaths recorded, the heaviest lard users had a hazard ratio of 0.86 (0.70 to 1.06) against non-users, which is not significantly different from no effect. Both are observational, and neither can tell you which way the cause runs.

The numbers, per 100 g

How much is actually in it

• Lard is 100 g fat per 100 g with 39.2 g saturated fat and 95 mg cholesterol in USDA data, and the independent British CoFID table agrees within 3% (40.3 g saturated, 93 mg cholesterol), so there is no meaningful composition spread to argue about. — USDA SR Legacy record FDC 171401 Lard; CoFID 2021 record 17-010 Lard (n = 2 reference records) Evidence E source
  Fat 100 vs 99 g; saturated 39.2 vs 40.3 g (3%); cholesterol 95 vs 93 mg (2%); CoFID energy 891 kcal, vitamin E 1.0 mg per 100 g

What a real portion looks like

• One US tablespoon of lard is 12 g, which carries about 4.7 g of saturated fat, close to a quarter of the 20 g Daily Value, and one cup is 192 g. — USDA FNDDS 2021-2023 household measures, United States (n = 1 food, 3 measures) Evidence E source
  1 tablespoon 12 g (about 4.7 g saturated fat, 11 mg cholesterol); 1 cup 192 g; quantity not specified 12 g

What your body absorbs

• After a biscuit made with 40 g of lard, the after-meal triglyceride rise in 16 healthy adults matched butter, while coconut oil produced a response 58.8% lower than lard. — 16 healthy volunteers, single-blinded randomised crossover, test biscuits with 40 g butter, coconut oil or lard (n = 16) Evidence B source
  Postprandial TG response: coconut oil 58.8% lower than lard (p < 0.01) and 59.8% lower than butter; lard vs butter no difference
• In four men fed 61 g of lard a day for 28 days, the position of palmitic acid on the triglyceride did not change how much fat was absorbed, and 85% of fatty acids at the middle (sn-2) position stayed there after absorption. — four middle-aged men, native versus randomised lard, 61 g/day for 28 days, deuterium-labelled fatty acids (n = 4) Evidence C source
  Absorption of labelled fatty acids not influenced by triglyceride position; sn-2 fatty acids 85 +/- 4.6% retained after absorption

What it does to your health

• Across nine meta-analyses of randomised trials, substituting lard for monounsaturated or polyunsaturated oils raised LDL cholesterol by 8.39 mg/dL (95% CI 2.83 to 13.95) and 9.85 mg/dL (6.06 to 13.65) with no rise in HDL. — adults in randomised feeding trials pooled by nine meta-analyses, searched to December 2018 (n = 9 meta-analyses) Evidence A source
  LDL-C +8.39 mg/dL (95% CI 2.83-13.95) lard vs MUFA oils; +9.85 mg/dL (6.06-13.65) lard vs PUFA oils; HDL-C unchanged
• In a network meta-analysis of 54 randomised trials with 2,065 adults, swapping 10% of energy from lard for safflower, sunflower, rapeseed, corn or soybean oil lowered LDL cholesterol by 0.20 to 0.33 mmol/L. — 54 randomised trials, 2,065 adults aged 22 to 84, 3 to 27 weeks, isocaloric oil exchanges (n = 2,065) Evidence A source
  LDL-C -0.33 to -0.20 mmol/L for five seed oils vs lard per 10% energy exchange; lard itself not listed among fats that beat butter
• In 334 healthy Chinese adults fed 30 g of lard a day for 12 weeks, systolic pressure changed by -1.2 mmHg (95% CI -3.7 to 1.4) and diastolic by +3.3 mmHg (0.9 to 5.8), while a half lard, half soybean oil blend cut systolic pressure by 6.0 mmHg. — 334 healthy adults, mean age 33, 60% women, three isoenergetic diets with 30 g/day of soybean oil, lard or a 50:50 blend, 12 weeks, 245 completed (n = 334) Evidence B source
  SBP/DBP change: lard -1.2 (95% CI -3.7 to 1.4)/+3.3 (0.9 to 5.8) mmHg; blend -6.0 (-8.6 to -3.4)/+0.8; soybean oil -3.3/+1.5; no group differences in weight, lipids or glucose
• In 18 adults with insulin-resistant dyslipidemia, replacing saturated fat from lard with monounsaturated fat from olive oil for 4 weeks lowered LDL cholesterol by 7.0% and shrank the LDL apoB-100 pool by 6.0%. — 18 men and women with dyslipidemia associated with insulin resistance, fully controlled feeding, two 4-week diets with 4-week washout (n = 18) Evidence B source
  LDL-C -7.0% (P = 0.01), non-HDL-C -2.5% (P = 0.04), LDL apoB-100 pool size -6.0% (P = 0.05), VLDL apoB-100 pool size -22.5% (P = 0.01)

Safety, limits and interactions

• In 18,852 adults from Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic, high adherence to a traditional Eastern European diet carried 23% higher all-cause mortality (HR 1.23, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.42), and high lard consumption was the component linked to all-cause, cardiovascular and cancer deaths. — 18,852 adults in the HAPIEE prospective cohort, Russia, Poland, Czech Republic, 2,234 deaths during follow-up (n = 18,852) Evidence C source
  All-cause mortality HR 1.23 (95% CI 1.08-1.42), CVD mortality HR 1.34 (1.08-1.66) for high vs low diet score; lard positively related to all three mortality outcomes
• WHO recommends that adults and children keep saturated fat at 10% of energy or less and replace it with polyunsaturated fat, a strong recommendation that applies directly to lard, which is 39% saturated fat by weight. — WHO guideline for adults and children, 2023 Evidence E source
  Saturated fat to 10% of total energy (strong), further below 10% (conditional), replace with PUFA (strong) or plant MUFA or fibre-rich carbohydrate (conditional)

What people believe that the data does not support

• Replacing 7.5% of energy from a partially hydrogenated oil with 20% trans fat cuts coronary risk by only 2.7% when the replacement is butter but 9.9% when it is canola oil, so switching trans fat to butter recovers a fraction of the benefit of switching to vegetable oil, and lard, although modelled, is given no number of its own in the abstract. — meta-analyses of controlled dietary trials on blood lipids and of prospective cohorts on coronary events, modelled replacements Evidence C source
  CHD risk change for replacing 7.5% energy from 20% TFA PHVO: -2.7% (butter) to -9.9% (canola); per 1% energy TFA replaced by SFA, TC/HDL ratio -0.31 vs -0.67 for PUFA

Who this works differently for

• In 36 premature infants, modifying formula triglycerides with lard did not improve fat or energy absorption or growth, while infants on antibiotics absorbed 20% more fat, so the trial gives no support for lard in infant formula. — two groups of 18 premature infants, mean gestational age 33.0 weeks, adapted cow's milk formula with or without lard (n = 36) Evidence B source
  No difference in fat or energy absorption, serum cholesterol, triglycerides or growth velocity; antibiotic-treated infants +20% fat absorption (P < 0.01), +8% energy absorption
• In a meta-analysis of 68 rat studies, a maternal high-fat diet around pregnancy, often lard-based, left offspring with higher body fat, weight, leptin, glucose, insulin, triglycerides and blood pressure, and lard-based diet type was a main source of variation between studies. — 362 effect sizes from 68 experiments in Wistar, Sprague Dawley and Long Evans rats (n = 68 rat studies) Evidence D source
  Higher offspring body fat, body weight, leptin, glucose, insulin, triglycerides and systolic blood pressure; HDL unchanged

What is still unknown

• In 14,305 Chinese adults followed for a median of 14 years, the highest tertile of lard use was not significantly linked to mortality (HR 0.86, 95% CI 0.70 to 1.06), whereas peanut oil users had 41% lower mortality, so the two available cohorts on lard point in different directions. — 14,305 adults aged 20 and over in the China Health and Nutrition Survey, 1,006 deaths over 199,091 person-years (n = 14,305) Evidence C source
  All-cause mortality, highest tertile vs no use: lard HR 0.86 (0.70-1.06); peanut oil 0.59 (0.47-0.74); soybean oil 0.71 (0.54-0.93); canola 0.76 (0.61-0.94)

The bottom line

A US tablespoon of lard is 12 g, which by the USDA composition works out to about 4.7 g of saturated fat, close to a quarter of the 20 g Daily Value, and a cup is 192 g. The WHO guideline for adults and children asks for saturated fat at 10 percent of energy or less and, as a strong recommendation, its replacement with polyunsaturated fat. That is a position on saturated fat as a class rather than a ruling on lard as a food, and lard, at 39 percent saturated by weight, is one of the foods it lands on. The trials that fed lard directly are smaller and shorter than the meta-analyses. In 334 healthy Chinese adults, mean age 33, eating 30 g of lard a day for 12 weeks in a single-centre trial with 27 percent dropout, systolic pressure changed by -1.2 mmHg (95% CI -3.7 to 1.4) and diastolic by +3.3 mmHg (0.9 to 5.8). Blood pressure was a secondary marker there, and weight, blood lipids and glucose did not differ between the oil groups. In 18 men and women with insulin-resistant dyslipidemia, four weeks of controlled feeding that swapped the saturated fat of lard for olive oil's monounsaturated fat lowered LDL cholesterol by 7.0 percent, a small metabolic study that says nothing about healthy adults. The LDL apoB-100 pool shrank by 6.0 percent over the same four weeks. After a single biscuit made with 40 g of lard, 16 healthy volunteers showed a triglyceride rise indistinguishable from the same biscuit made with butter, while coconut oil gave a response 58.8 percent lower than lard, in an acute one-meal test that measured triglycerides only. In four middle-aged men fed 61 g of lard a day for 28 days, the position of fatty acids on the fat molecule did not change how much was absorbed, a mechanistic isotope finding in four people and nothing more. We found no human trial on frying or heating lard, so the cooking questions people ask most stay unanswered here. One belief worth correcting is that lard is a clean swap for the partially hydrogenated oils that carried trans fat. A modelling study built on meta-analyses of lipid trials and on coronary cohorts, so an observational estimate rather than a trial result, put the coronary risk reduction from replacing 7.5 percent of energy from a 20 percent trans fat oil at 2.7 percent when butter takes its place and 9.9 percent when canola oil does. Lard was one of the fats modelled, and the abstract gives it no number of its own, so the only figure this page can put on the animal fat end of that range is butter's 2.7 percent. On who should be careful, the cards are thin. The one randomised trial in infants, 36 premature babies born at a mean of 33 weeks in a 1989 study with 18 per group, found that modifying formula fat with lard did not improve fat or energy absorption or growth. The authors found no support for lard in infant formula. A meta-analysis of 68 rat experiments linked a maternal high-fat diet, often lard-based, to offspring with higher body fat, weight, glucose, insulin, triglycerides and blood pressure, and that is animal data with no human equivalent. We have no card on lard and allergy, on pregnancy in humans, or on any drug interaction, and the Eastern European cohort above is the only human signal on harm beyond blood lipids, and it is observational.

Sources

1. lard-dv2-13 · reference dataset
   FDC 171401 Lard (SR Legacy, Fats and Oils): Total lipid (fat) 100 g · Fatty acids, total saturated 39.2 g · Cholesterol 95 mg per 100 g · CoFID 17-010 Lard: saturated 40.3 g, cholesterol 93 mg, energy 891 kcal, vitamin E 1.00 mg per 100 g
   USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy and CoFID 2021, Public Health England / OGL v3.0 · checked 2026-09-23
2. lard-dv2-14 · reference dataset
   FNDDS Lard (code 81202000, fdc_id 2710166): 1 tablespoon 12 g · 1 cup 192 g · Quantity not specified 12 g
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023 · checked 2026-09-23
3. lard-dv2-05 · RCT crossover
   Sixteen healthy volunteers consumed test biscuits containing 40 g of either butter (BB), coconut oil (CB) or lard (LB) in a single-blinded, randomized crossover design...The postprandial TG response following CB was 59.8% lower than following BB (p < 0.01) and 58.8% lower than LB (p < 0.01), although no difference was observed between the BB and the LB responses.
   Clin Nutr, 2020 · checked 2026-09-23
4. lard-dv2-06 · controlled feeding study
   The study design consisted of feeding diets containing 61 g/d of native lard (NL) or randomized lard (RL) for 28 d...Results showed that absorption of the 2H-fatty acids (2H-FA) was not influenced by TAG position. The 2H-FA at the 2-acyl TAG position were 85+/-4.6% retained after absorption.
   Lipids, 2004 · checked 2026-09-23
5. lard-dv2-01 · umbrella review
   We identified nine meta-analyses that investigated the effect of dietary oils on lipid levels...Substituting lard for MUFAs and PUFAs increased LDL-c-by 8.39 (2.83-13.95) mg/dL and 9.85 (6.06-13.65) mg/dL, respectively-but not HDL-c.
   Nutrients, 2021 · checked 2026-09-23
6. lard-dv2-02 · network meta-analysis of RCTs
   Safflower, sunflower, rapeseed, corn, and soybean oil had a more pronounced effect on LDL-C when compared with lard (−0.33 to −0.20 mmol/l).
   J Lipid Res, 2018 · checked 2026-09-23
7. lard-dv2-03 · RCT
   334 healthy subjects (mean age: 33.1 years, 60% women) were randomized into three isoenergetic diet groups with three different edible oils (30 g day-1) (soybean oil, lard, and blend oil [50% lard and 50% soybean oil]) for 12 weeks...-1.2 (95% CI: -3.7 to 1.4)/3.3 (95% CI: 0.9 to 5.8) mmHg in the lard group...There were no significant differences in the changes in body weight, waist circumference, serum lipids, or glucose between groups.
   Food Funct, 2023 · checked 2026-09-23
8. lard-dv2-04 · RCT crossover
   Males and females with dyslipidemia associated with IR (n = 18) were recruited for this crossover double-blind randomized controlled trial...This substitution also reduced low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (Δ = -7.0%; P = 0.01), non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (Δ = -2.5%; P = 0.04), and LDL apoB-100 PS (Δ = -6.0%; P = 0.05).
   Am J Clin Nutr, 2024 · checked 2026-09-23
9. lard-dv2-08 · prospective cohort
   From 18,852 eligible participants, 2234 died during follow-up. In multivariable adjusted models, participants with high adherence to the traditional Eastern European diet had significantly higher risk of all-cause (HR 1.23; 95% CI 1.08-1.42) and CVD (1.34; 1.08-1.66) deaths compared to those with low adherence...From the specific EEDS components, high consumption of lard was significantly positively related to all three mortality outcomes
   Eur J Nutr, 2021 · checked 2026-09-23
10. lard-dv2-12 · guideline
    WHO recommends that adults and children reduce saturated fatty acid intake to 10% of total energy intake (strong recommendation)...WHO recommends replacing saturated fatty acids in the diet with polyunsaturated fatty acids (strong recommendation), monounsaturated fatty acids from plant sources (conditional recommendation), or carbohydrates from foods containing naturally occurring dietary fibre, such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits and pulses (conditional recommendation).
    WHO, Saturated fatty acid and trans-fatty acid intake for adults and children: WHO guideline, 2023 · checked 2026-09-23
11. lard-dv2-11 · meta-analysis with modelling
    we calculated the effects on CHD risk for replacing 7.5% of energy from three different PHVO formulations (containing 20, 35 or 45% TFAs) with butter, lard, palm or vegetable oils...CHD risk would be variably decreased by different fats and oils replacing 7.5% of energy from 20% TFA PHVO (CHD risk reduction: -2.7% (butter) to -9.9% (canola))
    Eur J Clin Nutr, 2009 · checked 2026-09-23
12. lard-dv2-07 · RCT
    Fat absorption of an adapted cow's milk formula was studied in a randomized controlled trial involving two groups of 18 premature infants...The triglyceride configuration was modified by the use of lard. This modification did not improve the absorption of fat or energy...Based on these results, we find no support for the use of lard in adapted cow's milk infant formulas to improve fat absorption.
    Eur J Pediatr, 1989 · checked 2026-09-23
13. lard-dv2-10 · meta-analysis of animal studies
    362 effect sizes from 68 studies together with relevant moderators were collected. We found that maternal HFD is statistically associated with higher body fat, body weight, leptin, glucose, insulin and triglycerides levels, together with increased SBP in offspring later in life...A main source of variation among studies emerged from rat strain and lard-based diet type.
    Sci Rep, 2017 · checked 2026-09-23
14. lard-dv2-09 · prospective cohort
    We analyzed data from 14,305 adults aged ≥20 y at entry in the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS)...Multivariate-adjusted HRs (95% CIs) of total mortality via comparing the highest tertile of cooking oil consumption with no consumption were 0.86 (0.70-1.06) for lard, 0.59 (0.47-0.74) for peanut oil, 0.71 (0.54-0.93) for soybean oil, 0.76 (0.61-0.94) for canola oil
    Clin Nutr, 2020 · checked 2026-09-23